Two days after being named the Raiders’ starting quarterback, Gardner Minshew began his first practice as the undisputed leader of the club’s offense Tuesday night at Allegiant Stadium.
Aside from the initial rush he felt upon prevailing over Aidan O’Connell in the competition for the starting job, it was business as usual.
“My relationship with practice has always been to get better and have fun,” Minshew said. “I think if you do those two things, you’re gonna have a good day and get better.”
He’s been around long enough to know not to take anything for granted. Yes, the Raiders have given him the keys to their offense. No doubt it’s an honor he said he’s “grateful” and “excited” about.
But there is a difference between winning the job and holding onto it. And no one needs to explain that to Minshew, who began the 2020 season as the starter for the Jaguars, only to lose the job after Jacksonville opened the season with one win over its first seven games.
A thumb injury he was dealing with didn’t help, but Minshew wasn’t getting the job done. It’s a lesson he’s never forgotten.
“The one thing I’ve figured out is, being a quarterback in this league, it’s all about winning,” Minshew said. “If you win, nothing else really matters.”
Four years later, the Raiders are giving him another shot at a job he shares with just 31 other human beings. Holding onto it will come down to winning and losing. His first day on the job officially began the process of being on the right side of that equation.
“We’re going to try to figure out how to win games around here,” Minshew said.
The slight difference he felt Tuesday was being the “guy” rather than being in a two-man competition.
“I think anytime you step in there as the quarterback, whatever the situation, it’s your team at that point,” Minshew said. “You have to treat it like that.”
With the season opener against the Chargers just 18 days away, there isn’t a moment to spare. The Raiders will practice again Wednesday, then take the day off before hosting the 49ers in their preseason finale Friday at Allegiant Stadium.
They are expected to get back to work next Tuesday after trimming their roster from 90 to 53 players.
It’s overdrive at this point getting ready for the regular season.
“I think we have a lot of stuff we can work on, really get dialed in now and get the reps,” Minshew said. “Getting some good conversations with these guys, just figuring out our identity and what we’re going to look like.”
The Raiders expected O’Connell to build off the momentum of his nine-game starting stint last year by securing the starting job. The former Purdue standout was given every opportunity to do so, beginning every new phase of the process as the de facto starter.
Minshew, the far more experienced player and a proven commodity as an NFL backup capable of starting long stretches of games if need be, was the insurance plan in case O’Connell wasn’t ready to assume the full-time job.
Nevertheless, the Raiders opened the job to a full competition willing to let the cards fall where they may.
By no means was Minshew the decidedly better candidate. He was prone to following one solid day of practice with an uneven performance the next, and even his best practices were tinged with sloppiness and turnovers.
However, O’Connell was even more inconsistent and was the inferior player throughout camp. There was a lack of “wow” plays during the Raiders’ 17 days in Costa Mesa, California, and far too many practices where he threw multiple interceptions.
Whatever hope the Raiders had of him taking a big step forward in his second training camp quickly faded. One week in, it was clearly a dead heat.
One could argue that O’Connell was the better player during the two preseason games, completing 72.4 percent of his 29 passes compared to Minshew completing just 48.5 percent of his 33 throws.
But the lasting impression O’Connell left was the fourth-quarter interception he threw against the Cowboys that was returned for a touchdown.
Pierce has stressed decision-making and taking care of the ball all offseason, and on that play, O’Connell was guilty of three egregious errors. First, his decision not to throw to an open Dylan Laube in the flat. Then, throwing into a crowd toward the other side of the field. And finally, the poor throw he made that led to an easy interception for Cowboys cornerback Kemon Hall.
It was the worst possible last impression, and likely played a role in the decision to start Minshew.
Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on X.
Up next
Who: 49ers at Raiders (preseason)
When: 7 p.m. Friday
Where: Allegiant Stadium
TV: Fox, NFLN
Radio: KRLV-AM (920), KOMP-FM (92.3)
Line: 49ers -6, total 35